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The Secret to Burberry Prorsum’s Perfectly Imperfect Oxblood Lips

The oxblood lips at the Burberry Prorsum Spring 2016 show were dramatic in more ways than one: The brand released images of the beauty look, and the products used to create it, on Snapchat the day before the presentation, giving followers a fleeting sneak preview of the show 12 hours in advance.

burberry beauty dark lipsPhoto: Courtesy of Burberry / @burberry

What made the moody pout feel especially modern was the way it was blurred around the perimeter—a trick that makeup artist Wendy Rowe said allows the strong color to work on anyone. “This is how to wear bold lips,” she explained. “In making them soft at the edges, it will give that feeling of fullness, so this works even on small lips.”

To keep the focus on the mouth, the rest of the face was left simple: a quick brow brushing, no mascara, and an application of Burberry’s runaway-success contouring sticks (“I have been using these for years now, I am so glad people can finally buy them!” Rowe said), followed by a dusting of the brand’s contouring palettes—coming out next spring—for extra dimension. Rowe then applied one layer of Lip Velvet lipstick in Oxblood, blotted it with tissue, and then added another swipe of the color before rubbing a Q-tip around the edges to soften the line. “This is what makes it much more wearable,” Rowe said. “And it’s all the more convenient for kissing!”